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A15

The A15 spends most of its time following part of the Roman road Ermine Street, charging up in a straight line from Peterborough to Lincoln and then Brigg. The part of it that fits in the Motorway Database is nothing to do with that, however - it's the part that was built in the late 1970s to connect Lincolnshire with Hull, via the Humber Bridge.

The Humber Bridge is an incredible feat of engineering: the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world for 17 years, its two support towers are 155 metres (508ft) tall and are 36mm (1.4 inches) further apart at the top than the bottom to allow for the curvature of the earth. Its main span is 1.41km (0.87 miles) in length.

For all its beauty and ingenuity, the bridge is also a white elephant. Built largely for political reasons, it connects nowhere to nothing much, the towns and cities on the opposite banks of the Humber being a little too far for commuting. The astronomical cost of construction mean that the tolls are the highest on any bridge in the UK. Even so, the Humber Bridge Board has reliably lost money ever since the bridge was opened in 1981, despite a refinancing deal in 1996. The tolls, and the good motorway connections at each end, mean that for any journey that starts more than a few miles from either end of the bridge, it is usually just as fast and considerably cheaper to go via the M18 at Goole which is free.

As a result, the A15 between Hull and the M180 is incredibly quiet. The Humber Bridge section carries about 100,000 vehicles a week - a very low number for such a high-quality road - and the section on dry land carries even fewer.

There is now a campaign group, Humber Toll Action, which is pushing for the tolls to be removed. It's a noble aim, which would see the bridge finally used to its full potential, but sadly very unlikely due to the massive debt that would have to be written off and the ongoing maintenance costs which are not cheap.

Tolls

A toll is charged to cross the Humber Bridge both northbound and southbound.

Enquiries about toll charges

Please direct all enquiries about the tolls to the Humber Bridge Board. This is NOT the Humber Bridge official website.

You're not looking at the whole A15

This page is about the parts of the A15 that are designated a motorway or that have motorway characteristics. Other sections of this road will not be featured here and will not count towards the length of the road as shown below.

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